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Travel After Loss: The Journey Back to Yourself

Oct 15
5 min read


At a Glance

Grief can make the world feel smaller. Places that once brought joy may feel empty, and trying something new can seem overwhelming. Yet a change of scenery, whether it's a weekend in a nearby town or a journey across the world, can remind us that life still holds possibilities. Travel doesn't erase grief, but it can create space to rediscover confidence, curiosity, and parts of yourself that may have felt lost after someone you love dies.


  • Travel can help you reconnect with your identity after loss.

  • You don't have to travel far or spend a lot of money for the experience to be meaningful.

  • Solitude and loneliness are not the same thing.

    Small moments of curiosity and connection often become important steps in healing.

  • There is no "right" time to travel after grief. The timing is deeply personal.





When someone we love dies, we often hear the same advice: Give it time. Time certainly matters, but it doesn't tell us what to do with the hours, days, and months that follow. It doesn't explain how to navigate a world that suddenly feels unfamiliar or how to reconnect with a version of yourself that no longer feels the same. 


Grief changes us. It changes our routines, our relationships, our confidence, and sometimes even our sense of identity. Many people describe feeling as though they no longer know who they are without the person they've lost. Others wonder whether it's okay to experience joy again or worry that moving forward somehow means leaving their loved one behind.


Those questions don't have simple answers. For Janice Waugh, founder of Solo Traveler, the answer wasn't found by trying to escape grief. Instead, it came through learning how to move alongside it. After the death of her husband, Ron, she gradually discovered that travel became more than visiting new places. It became a way to rediscover herself.


What makes her story especially meaningful is that it isn't really about travel. It's about identity, confidence, and discovering that even after profound loss, there are still parts of ourselves waiting to be found.


Grief Doesn't End. It Changes.


One of the most honest moments Janice shared was her reflection on how long grief actually lasted. From the outside, she said, the most visible part of her grief lasted about two years. Looking back, though, she believes it was closer to six to eight years before she truly felt present in her own life again. During much of that time, she was simply trying to make it through each day, something many grieving people understand all too well.


As an end-of-life doula and grief coach, I hear similar stories often. Our culture quietly encourages people to "move on" long before they're ready. Friends and family usually mean well, but after several months, the support often becomes less frequent while the grief remains just as real.


Healing doesn't follow a schedule. Some days you feel alright. Other days, grief returns with surprising intensity. Neither experience means you're doing anything wrong. What matters is learning how to carry grief while continuing to live.


What Helped.


Nearly two years after Ron died, Janice found herself sitting alone one cold February weekend. She could feel herself slipping back into the heaviness of grief. Rather than accept another weekend consumed by sadness, she paused and made a different decision. "I guess I'm traveling solo."


That single thought became the beginning of a new chapter. What followed wasn't simply booking a trip. She began building Solo Traveler, combining her lifelong love of travel with a renewed sense of purpose. Looking back, she realized it wasn't only the travel that helped her heal. It was having something meaningful to build while she was learning who she was becoming.


Purpose often becomes one of the quiet companions of grief. It doesn't replace the person we've lost or make the pain disappear. But purpose gives us a reason to keep taking the next step.


Travel Isn't About Getting Away


People often assume travel is about escaping everyday life. In reality, meaningful travel often does exactly the opposite. It helps us become more present. Janice described discovering something surprising while traveling alone. Although she had always considered herself an introvert, she realized she had quietly developed many of her late husband's extroverted skills during their years together. Traveling by herself created opportunities to use those abilities for the first time. She wasn't becoming someone different. She was discovering someone who had been there all along.


That realization extends far beyond travel. When we spend years with someone we love, our identities naturally become intertwined. We borrow habits and adopt interests. We even complete each other's sentences. (My husband Oren & I can easily have a conversation when my mouth is full of toothpaste.)


We begin seeing the world through one another's eyes. After a death, it can feel as though those shared parts disappear too. Often they haven't disappeared at all; they're simply waiting for us to notice them.


I've experienced this in my own life as well. Oren is a photographer and videographer. Over the years, I've found myself paying closer attention to light, composition, and the way a scene comes together. I see things differently because of the years we've shared. Those influences become part of who we are. Love leaves an imprint, and that imprint doesn't disappear simply because someone dies. Sometimes it becomes one of the ways they continue traveling with us.


Solitude Isn't the Same as Loneliness


Janice made an important distinction between solitude and loneliness. Loneliness is the pain of missing someone. Solitude can become an opportunity to reconnect with yourself.


After a loss, being alone often feels uncomfortable because it highlights who isn't there. Over time, though, many people discover they can still find joy in their own company. Whether it's traveling, taking a walk, visiting a museum, or enjoying lunch at a favorite café, those experiences remind us that life can still hold moments of peace and discovery.


Finding Yourself Again - Travel After Loss


As an end-of-life doula, I often encourage people to look back on their lives through life review. Reflecting on where we've been helps us better understand who we've become. Travel can offer something similar. Sometimes a familiar place brings back wonderful memories. Other times, a new place helps us imagine what's still possible.


One of the things I appreciated about Janice's story is that she never suggested travel cures grief. It doesn't. The people we love are always part of us. They travel with us in the memories we carry and the ways they've shaped who we are. Whether your first step is boarding a plane, taking a scenic drive, or simply saying yes to something new, it may be the first step toward rediscovering yourself. Your story isn't over. There are still new places to go, new experiences to have, and new parts of yourself waiting to be discovered.


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